Fetal Distress Comes With Symptoms Doctors Should Not Miss

Serious complications might take place after a pregnant woman commences labor and before she delivers her child. Doctors are responsible for monitoring her labor. They are also responsible for recognizing signs that a complication has arisen which can jeopardize the wellbeing of the unborn baby. Furthermore, the are supposed to react accordingly and without hesitation. If they do not do so, as for example if a doctor refuses to budge from hir or her opinion that the expectant mother's labor is advancing without problems and that the unborn child is doing well even if the data plainly shows a different story, the result can be a child with an irreversible impairment – an impariment that was avoidable.

In one case an expectant mother went to the hospital in active labor. In the course of the nine hours subsequent to her admission the nurse following her condition noted that the output of the heart rate monitor showed a normal pregnancy. The unborn baby’s heart rate then began to go up. The fetal heart rate in fact reached the 170-180 bpm (beats per minute) range and still the obstetrician continued to take the position that this was normal and that there was not any need for emergency action. Subsequently, the doctor delivered the baby through a natural childbirth.

The baby was taken to the NICU where he stopped breathing after a lengthy initial depression. A CT scan exposed both a subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding under the membrane covering the brain) and a left cephalohematoma (a collection of blood under the scalp). A few days later an MRI recorded brain damage consistent with restricted oxygen supply during childbirth.

In a matter of days the infant commenced having seizures. As the child grew it became apparent that he had serious limitations with speech, and he had trouble controlling his movements. The law firm that represented the family reported that they settled it on behalf of the child and his family for in the amount of $1.0 million.

The preceeding is illustrates the way in which a physician may become thoroughly blinded to know to be associated with the presence of a serious problem during labor. The doctor held onto the view that the unborn child’s heart rate tracing was normal even as the circumstances worsened and the readings plainly showed that the baby was in serious distress. Hence the doctor did nothing to correct the worsening problem. Instead, the obstetrician continued with the vaginal delivery as planned.

This doctor went on as if labor was progressing problem free. All the indications needed to figure out that the baby was in fetal distress and required attention immediately were present, right in front of the physician. It is difficult to say whether this doctor learned anything from this mistake so as not to repeat it again with another baby in the future. When a physician has made an error that permanently harms a child, however, an experienced birth injury lawyer can assist the family achieve a recovery that protects the child’s future.